Top 10 Welsh Players

jonjoward1998
Apr 1
5 min read

Wales have produced many great players ever since football existed but a lot of them came before the inception of the Premier League like Ian Rush and John Toshack.

Ryan Giggs and Gareth Bale are possibly the only two who have reached the very top since the inception of the Premier League with Bale achieving most of if not all of his success overseas.

We have seen some good Welsh players in the Premier League over the years and a lot of them have been players who just put in a good shift for the team, and have played for clubs lower down the league.

But I do think we could see more Welsh players get a crack at one of the big clubs as they've got some good young players coming through and have done maybe since their incredible journey to the semi finals at Euro 2016.

Before I reveal the list, one player who didn't make the cut was unfortunately Gary Speed and when I look back at it, I feel that I should've thought of him as he played over 400 Premier League games. If he was on the list, he would've been near the top.

Now here is the list:

Ryan Giggs

Aaron Ramsey

Gareth Bale

Robbie Savage

Mark Hughes

Ashley Williams

Craig Bellamy

Ian Rush

John Hartson

Wayne Hennessey

Ian Rush

Rush is one of the greatest strikers to play the game but as this top 10 is about Welsh players from the Premier League, he had to be in 10th because he wasn't around in the Premier League for very long.

He played just five seasons in the Premier League scoring 45 goals from his four seasons at Liverpool and one season with Leeds.

Had this list been about top 10 Welsh players ever, he would've been higher up.

John Hartson

Hartson was a good striker striker on his day in that he was strong, good in the air, and could score goals.

But he wasn't the most prolific of centre forwards in the Premier League with his only good season coming in 1997-98 where he scored 15 goals for West Ham. That was the only season where he got 10+ goals.

His best days came when he was Celtic as he was prolific and was playing in both a team, and a league that suited his style better.

Wayne Hennessey

Hennessey wasn't a keeper who was highly rated by fans, but he was a decent shot stopper on his day.

One reason why was probably because of his height as it allowed him to be a big presence between the sticks and make crucial saves whenever his team needed him to.

He spent the majority of his Premier League career at Crystal Palace and his performances between the sticks there helped the Eagles avoid relegation before establishing them as a Premier League club.

Robbie Savage

Robbie Savage is like Marmite in that you either loved him or you hated him. That has certainly been the case for him as a pundit and it was the same when he was a player too as he picked up a lot of cards.

He wasn't the most gifted of footballers in terms of ability, but he was someone who worked his socks off in the midfield and worked hard for the team.

He was that kind of player at every club he was at.

Mark Hughes

Hughes played in both the old First Division and the Premier League with his best days coming in the old First Division.

He was still an effective goal scorer during the Premier League era as he scored 35 goals in three seasons for Man United before scoring 25 for Chelsea.

He won two Premier League titles at Man United in 1993 and 1994 and hit 15 and 12 goals in those respective seasons. His goals in those seasons were key to United winning both titles.

Ashley Williams

Williams was Wales' captain during their journey to the semi finals at Euro 2016 where both his leadership and performances played a key role in the success Wales had at that tournament.

He was one of the best central defenders outside the big six in the Premier League when he was at Swansea as he was a great reader of the game, made the right interventions at the right time, and was a solid defender.

He was also a great leader and his leadership alongside his solid performances helped Swansea become an established Premier League team over a number of seasons.

His best days came with the Swans as he wasn't the same player at Everton despite a fairly solid first season.

Craig Bellamy

Bellamy got in the face of the ref at times during his career but he was still a good a player in that he was quick, difficult to play against and could score a variety of goals.

He played for seven clubs in the Premier League and scored for every single one of them. He netted 81 times in the Premier League and he might've had more if it wasn't for injuries.

He's now the current manager of the Welsh national team and is doing pretty well so far. He's yet to lose a game since he took over and will hopefully lead Wales to another World Cup.

Aaron Ramsey

Ramsey did have a lot of injuries during his career but when he was fit and in-form, he was a very good player.

His best and arguably only good season came in 2013/14 where he registered 10 goals and 8 assists and had he not picked up that injury mid-season, Arsenal might've been closer to challenging for the title.

He couldn't repeat the form he showed that season as he used more in a deeper role and although he did put in a number of good performances in that deeper role, his numbers for goals and assists dropped.

He was more of an no.8 or no.10 as he was a player who had a lot of energy and could break into the box to score goals.

Gareth Bale

A lot of Bale's best work came after he left the Premier League but his time in the Premier League was a stepping stone for him becoming the player he went on to become.

He started off as a left back when he arrived at Spurs as a youngster from Southampton before being pushed further up the pitch which saw his game grow.

His final few seasons at Spurs were absolutely incredible and especially his final season where he scored 21 league goals. His goals and performances that season earned him his big move to Real Madrid.

Ryan Giggs

There was only one winner of this category and it had to be Ryan Giggs because of his longevity.

He won more Premier League titles than any other player with 13 and he scored in almost every single season he played in.

He had incredible pace and agility during the early years of his career and as he got older, he had the same desire to make a contribution as he played right up until he was 40.

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